The school year is creeping up on me, and I don’t appreciate it.
My summertime priorities have been on point. I’ve watched more TV this summer than I have since the summer after 8th grade. I’ve read some good books and updated my book review page accordingly. I’m waking up naturally between 7:30 and 8 a.m. (No alarm clock, if I can help it.) I’m only cooking dinner two or three times a week, praise be. I am having a true and wonderful summer break with minimal commitments.
I do thrive on a schedule, but this summer I’ve spoiled myself. Forcing all of this downtime helped me see how crazy last year was. It helped me understand why my level of fatigue was off the charts. Whatever free time I had in the summer of 2020 wasn’t fully free because my brain was hijacked by impending doom and grief.
But this summer, my brain is calmer. The same old worries are alive and well, but all the extra stuff has cleared away. (Maybe Costa Rica helped after all!) Sleeping through the night, taking a slow morning, and relaxing in the afternoon has been my summer’s highlight.
Come mid-August, our busiest schedule yet will commence. It’s Jeremy’s senior year and Jackson’s hardest academic year so far. Both boys will run cross country this fall, and I’ll teach six English classes between two co-ops while still writing for the magazine. Oh, and I’m still planning and designing our co-op’s yearbook. (It’s hard to say no to things I actually enjoy.)
I am still trying to wrap my brain around having a senior in high school. I remember when we first decided to homeschool the boys, and high school seemed like a lifetime away. High school was a huge unknown, but it wasn’t something I needed to think about when the boys where in Kindergarten and second grade. And now here we are – 10th and 12th – and that means I have three years of homeschooling left.
Like my dad used to say, where does the time go?
We have a few more fun things planned before summer leaves us, and one of those things is a glorious boat day. We hope to recreate the perfect boat day we had last year around my birthday. Fingers crossed the stars align.